Chandigarh, July 04: Amid rising debt, mounting pay revision liabilities, inflating subsidies and ballooning deficits, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal has a tough task in hand to consider all this while presenting his third budget on July 7. The minister would be under severe pressure to propose new tax or cut non-plan expenditure for resource mobilisation to reduce the strain on state finances.
But it would be interesting to see in the Budget whether he takes some harsh steps or not, industry experts said. An analysis of the state”s finances show that this year the government is faced with huge expenditure arising on account of pay hikes in accordance with the Pay Commission”s recommendations.
Punjab has projected annual liability of Rs 3,000 crore as payment of additional salaries and Rs 4,800 crore as payment of arrears. However, citing dismal fiscal situation, Punjab has even asked the Centre to bear 50 per cent of additional expenditure incurred on revising the salaries.
Also, it is a cause of concern that almost 71 per cent of the total revenue receipts of the government are consumed by salary, pension, interest and subsidy, leaving less resources for social and economic services. .
—-PTI—